Church of Sourcism

     ​​Principle of Empathy

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     We believe morality is based on empathy and utilitarianism rather than an objective standard of good and evil as defined by a deity. As mammals descended from primates, we possess no concept of objective good or evil other than what we define them to be. The reason murder, rape and theft are considered bad is because they violate the autonomy of others and are not conducive to a functioning society. It is easy to imagine how one would not want to experience having such offenses committed against oneself. It is also easy to imagine how allowing such offenses to occur to others without consequence may lead to such offenses against oneself. In other words, I can imagine that being murdered would not be a desirable experience for me, so I should not want it to happen to others. 

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     Many of the world's most popular religions claim such a utilitarian basis for morality should be looked down upon as selfish and morally abhorrent. They claim the inability to label something as objectively good or evil somehow makes regulating behavior impossible. Humans are clearly still capable of considering murder, rape and theft to be intolerable offenses without being told by a higher authority. In fact, there is no reason to believe the supposedly objective morality provided by a deity would be any better. There is nothing wrong with wanting others to be treated well, so you are treated well in return. This concept is not that different from the traditional golden rule of treat others how you want to be treated. 

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